Panos Panay Confirms 7-Inch Surface Mini Still Exists

At the Microsoft event yesterday, we got to see the new Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, and Surface Studio 2. And not too long ago, the 10-inch Surface Go launched into the world. But what of that oft-rumored 7-inch Surface Mini? Well, Surface chief product designer Panos Panay says it's still very much real. Sort of.

In an interview with The Verge, Panay boasts that this pocketable Surface is "absolutely my baby." This "awesome" product is "like a Moleskin," he says, but it's not yet ready for primetime.

We've been hearing rumors about the Microsoft Andromeda project for some time, but nothing has really materialized in any sort of official capacity. Panay says that Microsoft "will invent and... create when products are right. We can't bring new categories into the world and not be a place where customers need it."

With smartphones getting progressively bigger and easily breaking the 6-inch screen threshold, and Chromebooks and convertibles inching their way down to 10 inches or so, is there still a space for something in the middle? Panay thinks so, though it's unclear whether the Surface Mini can double as a smartphone or if it's something you'd carry in addition to one.

The Surface line, as The Verge's Tom Warren points out, is about being more: "The Surface Pro is more than just a tablet, Surface Studio is more than just an all-in-one PC, and the new Surface Headphones are more than just regular headphones."

So, how will the Surface Mini be more? Well, according to Panay, "There’s a lot of new form factors that are coming in the future.”